Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of concepts and techniques for designing usable and engaging interactive systems. The course will complement an in depth review of usability engineering with basic knowledge of cognitive processes necessary to operate interactive systems and of the social impact of technology. A major emphasis will be devoted to practical aspects of user-centred design, including requirements elicitation, prototyping and evaluation.
Syllabus
The course is composed of:
- Introduction to the history of HCI.
- Interaction styles and paradigms.
- Introduction to usability engineering.
- Elements of cognitive psychology and the psychology of the user: (perception, memory, attention, decision making, problem solving and language, model human processor, distributed cognition) and their implications for design (metaphor, affordance, slip, mistake).
- Introduction to user- and task-centred design.
- Concept of utility, usability, and user-experience.
- User evaluations: formative, summative, and usability evaluation approaches.
- Elements of user interface (icons, menus, navigation, screen, colour, and typography).
- Practice of interface design.
Previous Courses
Reading List
Essential (Manual)
Sharp, H.,Rogers, Y., Preece, J. 2007. Interaction Design: Beyond human-computer interaction. John Wiley & Sons Inc, Third Edition.
Recommended
Benyon, D., Turner, P., Turner, S. 2005. Designing Interactive Systems. Harlow England: Addison-Wesley. Dix, A., Finlay, J., Abowd, G. D., Beal, R. 2004. Human-Computer Interaction. Pearson Prentice Hall, Third Edition.